The latest issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has been released, and with it comes the latest installment of Smash developer Masahiro Sakurai's bi-weekly column. Kody "NOKOLO" and Robert Sephazon of Source Gaming have provided a summarized translation via a pair of twitter threads.
This thread is a translation of Sakurai's recent Famitsu Column #629, which will be posted on @AllSourceGaming later today! Sakurai talks about his thoughts on concluding work.
— Kody NOKOLO (@KodyNOKOLO) May 26, 2021
This translation was done by myself and @Sephazon.
Please credit us if you use our translations. pic.twitter.com/IRMrRtFSwD
While Sakurai often uses his column to look back on development for titles he has worked on, this installment looks to the future. During his time off work for Golden Week — a series of four major Japanese holidays that happen in the same 7-day span — he thought about how long he wants to keep working in game development. The idea of early retirement is appealing, and he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life working. At the same time, there are aspects of his work that he enjoys, and that he wants to pursue for as long as he can.
With that in mind, Sakurai announced that there will be no additional DLC fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate after Fighters Pass 2 is finished. On top of that, after all of the game's DLC is released, development on Smash Ultimate will officially be over. It's currently unknown when either of these will happen, though Sakurai also implies that this may come soon.
Sakurai then goes on to confirm that he will continue working in game development after development on Smash Ultimate ends, though it seems that he plans on ending his Famitsu column soon.
A full translation of the column will be available on Source Gaming later today.